State & Regional News | The Daily Chronicle

Coroner IDs Thurston County woman who police suspect was killed by her partner last month

A 39-year-old woman who police suspect was killed by her partner in a Lacey area apartment last month has been identified. Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock identified the deceased woman as … more

Martín Bilbao / The Olympian (TNS) | 3/7/25

In this Chronicle file photo from October 2022, a helicopter steers away after dropping water over the Goat Rocks Fire near Packwood; heavy grain on this photo also illustrates the thickness of the smoke in the air at the time.

Federal funding chaos is hampering Washington state planning for wildfire season, officials say

Wildfire season is months away in Washington state, but planning efforts have already begun. It is not going smoothly. Local and state agencies told The News Tribune that federal funding … more

Becca Most / The News Tribune (TNS) | 3/7/25

U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez breaks with party to censure congressman who heckled Trump

U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat from Southwest Washington who has established a reputation for breaking with her party on certain partisan votes, has done so once again. … more

Carlos Fuentes / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 3/7/25

Three U.S. soldiers from PNW accused of sharing classified military information with China

Three U.S. Army soldiers are accused of sharing top secret national defense material and other sensitive military information with a Chinese national and other unidentified buyers in China, according … more

Maxine Bernstein / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 3/7/25

A view of the site on the Columbia River where officials hoped to recover the cream-colored Ford station wagon the Martin family drove when they disappeared in 1958.

Salvage crew expected to resume recovery of missing Oregon family’s station wagon

The salvage crew hoping to recover the cream-colored Ford station wagon carrying an Oregon family who disappeared in 1958 postponed their operation Thursday. The Hood River County … more

Beth Slovic / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 3/7/25

Three high voltage transmission towers, located just south of Sauvie Island, span the Willamette river. The tower at left is owned by PGE, the other two by Bonneville Power Administration.

Some Bonneville Power Administration workers fired under Trump can get jobs back

The Bonneville Power Administration, the region’s largest transmission grid operator, will be able to rehire some workers originally fired under President Donald Trump’s federal cutbacks. … more

Gosia Wozniacka / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 3/7/25

Crews review the aftermath of a Kelso house fire from Thursday, March 6.

One dead in two-alarm Cowlitz County house fire likely caused by portable electric heater

A man died in a house fire in Kelso on Thursday, Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue reported. Firefighters arrived in the 1000 block of S 6th Avenue in the small Washington town 48 miles from Portland … more

The Oregonian / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 3/7/25

The troopers found 11 grams of ketamine powder in the car, and in the trunk they discovered trash bags filled with about 160 pounds of marijuana, officials said.

Two arrested after being pulled over in SW Washington with nearly $1M in pot, ketamine

Washington state troopers stopped a speeding car in Clark County last month – and ended up making arrests and a large drug seizure. On February 27, troopers spotted a Dodge Hornet … more

The Oregonian / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 3/7/25

Washington House Dems vote to end forced prison labor; GOP warns taxpayers may foot the bill

While they agreed to drop the title, House Democrats passed a bill Wednesday that would make work programs almost entirely optional for incarcerated people in Washington state. Previously … more

Tim Clouser / The Center Square | 3/7/25

A view of Seattle Children’s Hospital. (Photo courtesy of Seattle Children’s)

Trump flouted judge’s order by canceling Seattle Children’s grant, Washington state AG says

Washington’s attorney general asked a federal judge Thursday to hold the Trump administration in contempt for allegedly canceling a grant to Seattle Children’s Hospital to research … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 3/7/25

Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins speaks during the inauguration of Gov. Bob Ferguson on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia, Wash. (Ryan Berry/Washington State Standard)

Here’s how Congress could push Washington state lawmakers into a special session

The leader of the Washington state House of Representatives said the quiet part out loud this week: lawmakers should brace for a special session if Congress slashes funding for Medicaid, the health … more

By Jerry Cornfield / The Washington State Standard | 3/7/25

Washington state bill aiming to limit police traffic stops dies in committee

A bill in the Washington Legislature that would have limited the circumstances under which law enforcement officers can conduct traffic stops has failed to advance from the House Community Safety … more

By Melanie Henshaw / InvestigateWest | 3/7/25

U.S. Forest Service officials attend a timber sale tour in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023.

Federal worker unemployment claims in Washington state double over last year

Washington state is seeing a sharp increase in unemployment claims by federal workers as the Trump administration moves to slash the government workforce. Claims from federal employees in … more

By Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero / The Washington State Standard | 3/6/25

Man was waiting in restroom stall when he assaulted fast-food worker, police in Thurston County say

Lacey police arrested a 25-year-old man Monday on suspicion of assaulting a fast-food worker in a women's restroom. The alleged assault occurred at the Carl's Jr. in the 3800 block of Pacific … more

Martín Bilbao / The Olympian (TNS) | 3/6/25

Fourth small quake in weeks jolts Western Washington

Yet another small earthquake hit Western Washington on Wednesday afternoon south of Sequim, according to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. The 3.9 magnitude quake hit around 4:18 p.m. and … more

Caitlyn Freeman / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 3/6/25

Mother of school shooting victim testifies in support of Washington state school safety bill

OLYMPIA — Seven years after a gunman killed 17 people in a Florida high school, the mother of one of the victims testified in support of a bill in the Washington Legislature that would … more

Mitchell Roland / The Spokesman-Review (TNS) | 3/6/25

Crews find wreckage of plane that crashed in Eastern Washington

Searchers have found the wreckage of a small plane that crashed near Whiskey Dick Mountain in Kittitas County. The pilot died in the crash, information from the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office … more

The Yakima Herald-Republic (TNS) | 3/6/25

Surveillance footage caught the intruder launching a Molotov cocktail at the showroom of the Tesla Center dealership in Salem in January, according to federal prosecutors.

Oregon man accused of trying to destroy Tesla car dealership with Molotov cocktails

A Salem man is accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a local Tesla dealership in January and returning a month later to fire into the showroom, according to federal prosecutors. Adam Matthew … more

Maxine Bernstein / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 3/6/25

The spot near The Dalles where tire tracks led to the Columbia River. In 1999, searchers returned to the spot where they believed the Martin family disappeared and compared the scene with a photo of it from 1959.

Family’s 1958 disappearance shocked Oregon; 67 years later, authorities announce break in case

The Hood River Sheriff’s Office announced early Thursday it will attempt to recover a nine-passenger Ford station wagon from the Columbia River that could be linked to a Portland family missing … more

Noelle Crombie / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 3/6/25

Washington state draft report blames high electric semi-truck prices on 'market failure'

A draft report by Washington state’s Electric Vehicle Coordinating Council attributes the increased price of new electric semi-trucks to be the result of “market failure." Industry … more

By TJ Martinell / The Center Square | 3/6/25